Running-gear for vehicles



(No Model.) 4 Sheets- Sheet 2;

- J. T. GURNEY.

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHICLES. I No. 272,238 Patented Feb. 13,1883.

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- (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. J.T .G'URNEY.

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

Patented Feb. 13,1883.

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J. T. G'URNEY.

RUNNING'GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

No. 272,238. Patented Feb. 13, 1883.

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I UNITED STATES ATENT time.

J. THEODORE GURNEY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RUNNlNG-GEAR FO R VEHICLES.

- I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 272,238, datedFebruary 13, 1883.

' Application filed April 1, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, J. THEODORE GURNEY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county ofSuli'olk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Running-Gear for Vehicles, of which thefollowingis aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved construction of running-gear forvehicles, and improvements in devices for uniting the same to the draftdevices.

Herttofore it has been customary to make leverage than the other,'theend farthest from the point of support being more flexible than I theother, and yielding with less resistance. Suspending the springs atpoints away from their centers produces many disadvantages which it ismy purpose to obviate.

Springs of the character. to which I allude are made, as is well known,of several-plates or leaves, curved into a semi-elliptic form andheretofore these plates or leaves have been made so as to be of the sameshape and thickness on both sides of the center, or so that thethickness gradually decreased from the center on both sides alike. Iconstruct the springs so that 011 one side of the center there shall bemore of the spring metal than upon the other. One method which I followto attain this end is to construct the spring plates or leaves so thatthey shall be thinner on one side of the center,- the difference inthickness being effected in the process of hammering them out. Anothermethod is to apply one or more short plates or leaves, extending onlyfrom the center toward the end which is to be the stifi'er. A s iringconstructed in either of these ways can e attached at its center to thevehicle, and when thus centrally connected it permits the other parts tobe arranged relatively to the spring and to eachother more i use.

advantageously than they can be when the springs are attached at a pointnearer one end than the other. Springs made according to my method canbe used in many ways in constructing vehicles, and they are speciallyadapted to those vehicles in which use is made ot'one semi-ellipticspring on each side, a crossspring at or near the rear end of thevehicle, and a cross-bar to which the front ends are attached, or inwhich the front ends of the side springs are secured directly to thebottom or side of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of connecting theside springs and the rear cross-spring together, so that there shall benone of the jarring or rattling incident to the attaching devices inordinary For this purpose I employ a connecting piece or shackle, ofsubstantially the ordinary character, having two tubes or pipes at rightangles to each other, and bolt this directly to the eye-pieces of thesprings, and produce a novel and advantageous connection for the ends ofthe springs.

The invention relates, further, to improvementsin the devicesforconuectingthe runninggear of a two-wheeled vehicle with the draftdevices. In this matter it consists in the combination, with the bodymounted upon two wheels and the drafcframe extended back and connectedrigidly with the body, ofa peculiarlyshaped bracket-frame, by the use ofwhich I avoid the cumbersome and expensive devices that have beenheretofore used for this purpose and provide a much stronger connection.The invention relates, further, to a novel means of support for the rearcross-spring employed in vehicles of this character. Instead of thebulky wooden blocks or supporting devices heretofore used, I employ asuspended iron plate supported by means of inclined straps or hangers,whereby the body is allowed to be dropped lower and the spring can bemore compactly arranged and more firmly supported.

The invention relates, also, to a novel form of axle and method forconnecting together the right angles substantially to the central partof the axle, and it has been further customary to support the sidesprings upon the top of the central portion of the axle. I- provide amore compact and durable union of the parts supported upon the axle byshaping it so that it shall lie in curved lines and supporting the sidespring upon the under side of the axle, whereby I am enabled to bringthe body low without the cumbersome axle andjoimng parts hithertoemployed.

The invention relates, further, to matters of detail in the constructionof vehicles of this sort, which will be fully hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1 is a side elevation ot a two-wheeled vehicle embodying myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a front end view of sufiicient thereof toillustrate the relations of the body to the runninggear. Fig. 3 is aside elevation of a side spring constructed according to my improvedplan. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a vehicle having the now commoncrank-axle and my improved form of gear and connection of draft devicescombined therewith. Fig. 5 shows in perspective the rearCI'OSS-Sl'lllllg, a side spring, and a portion of the axle shown in Fig.4. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the rear spring support. Fi 7 is a sideelevation of a business-wagon having my improved side spring and rearspring support. Fig. 8 is a perspective of a portion of the running-gearin Fig. 7 detached. Fig. 9 shows a two-wheeled cab without the rearcross-spring. Fig. 10 is a side view of a four- Wheeled vehiclesimilarly mounted. Fig. 11 is a perspective of the coupling between theside and rear springs.

In the drawings, A represents generally the side spring of the vehicle.It is constructed of a back or top plate or leaf, B, shown to be curvedtoward the ends and provided at the rear end with downwardly-turned eyesI). At the rear end it is connected to the crossspring E, in a manner tobe hereinafter described, when such spring is employed. At the front endit is connected to a bracket or hanger, which in the passenger-vehiclesshown in Figs. 1., 4, 9. and 10 extends upwardly from the bottom of thebody, and in the business delivery-wagon shown in Fig. 7 extendsdownwardly.

O U, Fig. 8, represent the shorter plates or leaves of the spring. Theyare placed beneath the centrahpart of the back leaf or plate, B. Theseare so constructed and arranged as to provide a greater amount of thespring metal on the mar side of the center of the spring than on thefront side. The plates or leaves 0 U are shown in Fig. 3, which, whenbeing formed, are hammered at the front end thinnerthan at the other.The degree ofthickness is a. matter which depends upon the circumstancesof each case.

In the constructions shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 the side springsare made heavier upon the rear side of the center by means of one ormore supplemental plates, 0, extending from the center backwardsufficiently far.

fitness It will be seen that as the said springs are connected rigidlyto the vehicle-body at their front ends, and are connected flexiblythereto by means ofthe intermediate rear cross-spring, E,at their rearends, much less flexibility ot' the springs is required at their rearends than at their front ends--that is, if they are at ached to thevehicle at their centers longitudinally. Now, it is desirable both tohave the springs thus attached at theircentcrs and also to have them asflexible at their Iront ends, where they are rigidly connected to thevehicle-body,-as at theirrearend. Byprovidingagreateramount of springmetal upon the rear side of the center than in front of it, the springwill exert much less resistance at the front end than if there were thesame amount of spring metal upon that side that there is on the rearside. This enables me to attach the springs at their centers and to usemuch longer and stronger springs than can possibly be used when they aresecured to the body at points considerably in rear of their centers, ashas been the custom heretofore. When short supplemental leaves or plates0 are used, extending from the center toward the rear end, they operateto increase the resistance of the spring upon that side of the center,and necessitate a greater leverage upon that end of the spring toproduce the same amount of bending than will be possible at the frontend.

The side springs. A, and the cross-spring E are connected together insuch a way as to avoid rattling and jarring entirely, and also avoid thelooseness between the parts which has been incident to the connectingdevices heretofore employed. As shown, the crossspring E is situated ina manner the reverse of the side springs-that is to say, the heavierback or base piece of the spring is below the shorter plates or leavesand the eyes 6 project upward in a plane at right angles to that of theeyes I) b. Thejoining of the springs is effected by means of a pipecoupling or shackle, F F, having two apertures,ff, at right angles toeach other. The shackle or coupling is so placed that the part F liesbetween the eyes 0 b and the part F between the eyes 0 a. By means ofbolts 1) and 6 these parts are fastened together.

Heretofore it has been customary to turn the eyes I) b of the sidesprings upward and the eyes e e of the cross-spring downward andconnecting them by a common double stirrupshackle; but these connectingdevices I have found very disadvantageous for many reasons, there beingmuch jarring, rattling, looseness, and liability to breakage incident totheir use.

I do not claim, broadly, the pipe coupling or shackle which I haveshown, as this, broadly considered, is very old; but by shaping thespring-plates and their heads or eyes in the manner described herein,and by connecting them in the way I have set forth, I avoid thedisadvantages mentioned above incident to the previously-used devices. I

In vehicles of the class shown in Figs. 2, 4,

9, and it is desirable to have the body of the vehicle as low aspossible relatively to the running-gear. To permit. the dropping of thebody low, 1 employ brackets G, with upwardlycxtending arms, which areprovided with an eye, whereby the forward end of each side spring may beattached, the spring having two corresponding eyes, B, pivot-allyconnected to the eye of the bracket or hanger by a bolt.

hen the spring is combined with a wagon of.

' shown detached in Fig. 6, and its relations to the springs in Figs. 5and 8. It is formed with a central plate, H, which can be firmly securedto the central portion of the springE by means of stirrup-bolts H. [arearms or straps extending laterally from the central plate, H, two ateachend, and one upon each side of the spring at the end. These arms Iare at '0' t'bolted to the bottom ofthe vehicle. This enables me tobring the central part of the spring closer to the body and provide amuch stronger and more durable support than are those heretoforeemployed. The supporting device may be formed by welding the arms I I tothe plate H, though they may be all made in one piece, if preferred.

I atn aware that the patents to Davis, No. 210,925. December 17. 1878,and Shea, Reissue No. 3,982, May 17, 1870, show hangers for supportingcross-springs, and I do not claim,

' tbroadly, all hangers as my invention.

Heretofore acuntbersome and comparatively complicated running-gear hasbeen employed in two-wheeled passenger-vehicles. A long crank-axle hasvbeen employed, bent at right angles to provide long upwardly-extendingarms, upon the-top of which the side springs have-been supported. I havesucceeded in devising a much simpler and lighter form of axle andconnecting mechanism. It is shown more x'esp'ecially in Figs. 1 and 2.The axleK is provided nith amomparatively short'downward lben'd ark, topermit all the vertical swinging upf the body that is required. To bringthe ,body low enough the side springs are mounted *upon the under sideof the horizontal arms 70 wheeled vehicle ofthe kind shown in Fig. 1con-' sists in the method of joining together the body, the draft-frame,and the seat-frame. I avoid the heavy and cumbersome connecting devicesheretofore used, and provide a simple but-strong frame, constructed asfollows: L

represents the draft-frame, to which the thills,

are attached. It extends back and is rigidly connected to the body M. Nrepresents a strong bracket, formed of, a vertical part, a, adapted tobe bolted to the front end of the body at or near the bottom, and havingalso ahorizontal portion, 0, to support the sea-t,'a front bottompart,p, at the foot-board, and an inclined connecting part,q.Thereisabracket upon each side of the draft-frame and seatt'ram'e otthis character. The part p is securely fastened to the draft-frame, thepart 0 is connected to the seat, andthe part a to the body, asdescribed. A supplemental bracket, 7* s, is employed, having the partsbolted to the part 0 of the main bracket, the portions r and tarrangedas braces, respectively, between the parts 0 and q and the parts 0 anda. I have in a previous patent shown the advantages in a four-wheeledvehicle of a bracket-frame of this character for joining the body withthe front gear frame; but I am not aware that use has ever been made ofa draft-frame rigidly connected to a body mounted upon two wheels andbraced securely to said bodyand the seatframe by ineans of a metallicbracing of the characterdescribed. When arranged as shown, the threemain parts of the vehicle are rigidly connected by devices having nosuperfluous weight and exceedingly simple in construction. I do not,however, herein claim the pe culiarly-constructed bracket which I havelast described for supporting the seat; nor do I claim, broadly, thecombination of the bracket, the seat, and the body; nor, broadly, thecombination of the bracket, the seat, the body, and the thills or draftdevices.

By meansof the upwardly-turned brackets Gr G, the body can be mountedmuch lower relatively to the other parts than it can when hangers orbrackets of the ordinary character are employed. This method ofsupporting a body is shown in Figs. 9 and 10, where a rear hanger orbracket, G is arranged to extend upwardly from the bottom of the bed, soas to throw the rear ends of the side springs to a point higher than thebottom.

I do not in this application claim herein anything but What isspecifically set forth in the following claims, reserving to myself theright to claim the other patentable features in another applicationwhich. I am about to file as a division hereof.

WVhat I claim is- 1. In a two-wheeled cab or vehicle, the combination,with the body M and the bracketframe N, having the front lower part, 19,the upper part, 0, for supporting the seat, and the rear part, at,secured to the body M, of the thill-framesituated beneath and joined tothe bracket-frame, and extending to and rigidly secured to thebody,s'ubstantially as set forth.

2. A vehicle-spring composed of leaves or plates secured together at thecenter of the spring and at the centers of the leaves, respectively,each leaf having a greater amount of spring metal upon one side of itscenter than uponthe other side, substantially asset; forth.

3. The combination of the vehicle-body, the semi-elliptical cross-spring E, the side springs,

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C (3, respectively attached to the ends of the into close proximity tothe under side of the cross-spring, the supporting-plate H, situatedbody, substantially as set forth. [C on the under side of the center ofthe spring, In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in and the arms II, attached to said plate, expresence of two witnesses.

tending up o both sides of the semi-elliptical J. THEODORE GURNEY.spring, and having their upper ends secured i \Vitnesses:

t0 the under side of the body directly, where- JAMES T. MGLAUGHLIN,

by said spring can have its upper face brought HENRY H. PAGE.

